Pedal extension



Aug. 8, 1950 Filed March 8, 1949 FIG. 6.

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Patented Aug. 8, 1950 IZEDALIL.EXIENSIQN'.E

Otto S Olsen, Alhambra; Calif.

Application Marches, 1949', SerialLNo.=80,190:.

I Cl. 'ML-562)'.

2 Claims.

Thissinvention relatestolpedal extensions, and. moreggparticul-arlvto'zan extension for Yone pedal. offa'lpair of :ootsoperated brakeandclutch pedals.` of: ani automotivefvehicle. to.- renden both.- pedals.simultaneouslyg, operableby one .footf of the, per.- sonrdriving;the-vehicle...

It isfamong; the objects :of the invention .to .pro-g vide appeal-alextension.: which can be quickly-and easilwattachedftoonezofthetwo.;brake.-and clutcht operating;Y pedalsI ofi. an;automotive; vehicle to. extend. across-..the :space between.` the twopedals.. to.l a.. location vadj acent'y thee other. pedal, so. that.both pedals.cambefoperatediby one-.footfof the; person: driving; theevehicle, whichextension is. fnllwadjustablefto compensate fordifferent-dis tancesff. between: the.- pedals f of 1 dierenti vehiclesand fordifferences ain .thelevel of .the.,pedals.-when.. imnormalposition. and..the..diiierent. amounts of; pedalmovementfrequiredxoengage. the... vehicle.. brakes, l or.- disengage the vehicle clutch..which is.. simple. and durable. in, construction, extremely.Aeconomical/.tof manufacture. and -neat and .attr-acatrvefinappearance,Vvand. .which .requires no importantgmodicationfof .the .existingfvehicleor pedal. structure for its installation, anddoes. not.,inter.f fereinany; way, with vehicle components adja cent the footrpedalsmrwith .theoperationof the pedals...

Other.. objects. and'. advantages.. will.. become.. apparent.` from i a.consideration of, the.. following` description and the appended claims,in.conj.i1nc.ftiony with; the accompanying. drawing, wherein:

Figure l-.is a.,somewha.t.diagrammatic view of a p airf. of! vehiclebrake. and .clutch operating pedals.. with: an extension illustra-tivesyof the invention. attachedi to: the brakes pedal 4; and..A extending. toa. location adj acent 'the clutch pedali.:

Figure1 2 is arr: end" e1evation'.of: the-f extension,. and an-sideelevation'V of the;brakeffpedalrlookingg substantially from= the line2:-2ti of Fi gurei 1.; g

Figure 3*' is afdiagrammatif:n sides elevation. of:

the twO pedals and the extension'rwith-theextension adjusted"for"one\operati'vee condition of the two pedals;v n

Figure 44' isaview 'similartofFigure-f 3 fwiththa extension .adjustedfor a;differentloperating conefY dition of .the.pedals;, Y n Figuref' isa View `similar tov Figures 3.? andil'; with the, extensionadjusted fora still* differenti operating condition ofthe.pedals;`v p pEigfurefsisfa.Perspective view o1.'0negoorllponent oftheextension;

Figuref'.- is:\a.perspective .View of La icomplernenftary-.rcomnonentrofftheextension.;and. V

2" Figurer 8. is a-transversa crossfsection onf.. the line-8f4:of^Figure=1- With. continued reference to:the .drawing-,f .the numeral Igenerally` indicates-the footfoperated clutch-.releasevpedal, and thenumeral llgeneren allyl indicatesgthe.v brake-applying. foot.` pedal. ofaconventional vehicle.- The .twopedals .-I Iliandl `I areel of.Aconventional.4 construction` and. include respective l Shanks I2 f andvI3 which entendiA upv wardlythrough respectiveapertures,l I4. and. I5provi-ded.v in the s vehicle floor. boards... As.. illusV trated yinFigure 8', ,each .shank .is .providedrat Aits upper` endrwith anapertured, .internallv-- screw*` threaded boss I 6 to. whichthafootpad.I1.is. attached; The. footpadcompriseaa thin-.plate I 8'. of circular,or other.v desired.. shape, having, a; covering f I 9 fof resilientmaterial, such .as rubber;- and a screw-threaded shank 20 projectingout-1 wardly. from the. center thereof at'.` the. Sider-,opposite the,rubber covering. I Brand threaded into. the boss IBfof therpedalshank.. As the. footpads are subject. to rather.- rapid. wear, this..arrangement permits the .easy and.` convenient .replacement of. thepads, when necessary.

The pedal extensionofthe presentinvention comprises twaangle.. brackets,as. generally indie catedvatZI and.22, which are. preferablysecured' to.the. brake pedal. shank. andi extend.. across, the space. between..the.1 brake. pedal. and, the .clutch pedal to a location adjacent theclutch pedal .andi are, relatively, adjustable ,to compensate for.various operating.conditionsof the two. pedals.

The angle bracketLZZ-has twoat .legs ZIand 2.41perpendicularly.-disposed.. respective, to.. each A. other andprovided'^ with. respective longitudi-4nallyeextending.,.medial;slots25fand26 Theleg,

2A is materially longerthanlthe leg,2l3;.and'tha slot'2 S'Lin .the leg.2;4 is. correspondinglylonger than. the slot 25in theleg 2.3i.

Inapplying the extension Y`to the. brake pedal 'L I .Ii the foot; pad; I'I'. is rst '.removedby threading the shank Ill out of'the boss.liandlthe 1eg .24.`oi"A theangl Abracket 22.,is..then placedon. top. ofI the boss.. I6` with ,the sloty 26" in alignment 'withthe aperture j inthe .boss,and" the foot pad .shanlilll nsertedLtlirougli theslot 26andthreadeddown in. the. aperture.. in the. boss IBL to. secure. the..bracket 22'.to thebrak'apedal.

Thefbrac-ketl has twolegs -.2]. and 28ofsul=-- stantiallythe samelength,andtheJeg 2B isproevided with. a,longitudinally-extendingf.mediallyfdisposed .slotzathe leg..2'l.'having no .slot orother. openingtherethrough..

With the.. bracket 22.. attached to.. the brake` pedal,..thebracket 2Iis positionedsothatits legs 28 is against the outer face of the leg 23of the bracket 22, and a bolt 3B is then inserted through theregistering slots 25 and 29, and a nut 3| threaded down on the bolt. Thetwo brackets constituting the assembled extension are then brought to aposition, as illustrated in Figure 1, such that the outer end of the leg21 of bracket 2| is positioned close to the adjacent side of the footpad of theclutch pedal IB, and the foot pad |1 of the brake pedal isthen threaded down to hold the extension in this position. The twopedals are then depressed until the clutch is disengaged, and the brakesare rmly set, and with the pedals held in this position the bracket 2|is moved until the upper surface of its leg 21 is flush with the uppersurface of the foot pad of the clutch pedal lll, whereupon the nut 3| istightened down on the bolt 30 to hold the two components of theextension in this properly adjusted condition.

With the extension thus adjusted, upon depression of the clutch pedaland with the foot resting on the clutch pedal, also overlying theadjacent end of the extension, the brake pedal will also be depressed toapply the brakes at the Sametime the clutch is released. This is notonly a convenient operating condition for stopping the vehicle, but isparticularly convenient for holding the vehicle on a hill with theclutch disengaged, since the right foot of the driver may be kept on theaccelerator pedal connected to the vehicle engine, and the vehicle willbe held irom'drifting back down a hill by the application of the brakesthrough the pedal extension. As the clutch is re-engaged, the brake willbe released and the engine power can be simultaneously increased at thesame time, to continue movement of the vehicle up the hill.

In Figure 1 the dotted line circle 32 indicates the position of thevehicle steering column, and it will be noted that the extension, whenin operative position, as illustrated in Figure l, clears this steeringcolumn by a wide space, and it will also be noted .that since thebracket 22 of the extension -is applied to the top of the brake pedalshank, the extension does` not strike the floor boards before the pedalsare fully depressed, nor

interfere, in any way, with any part of the ve-v hicle or with theoperation of the brake and clutch pedals.

In the various positions of adjustment illustrated in Figures 3, 4 and5, Figure 3 illustrates the condition corresponding to relatively smalldepression of both pedals necessary to release the clutch and apply thebrakes., Under these conditions, the leg 21 of vthe `bracket 2|, isbrought to a .position at which its upper surface is substantially flushwith the uppersurface of the foot pad of the clutch .pedal when both of.the pedals are fully released. When this adjustment, as thev clutchpedal vis depressed, `the brake pedalwill be depressedisubstantiallythesame amount. l.

The adjustment shown inFigure 4 is for acorn,

dition in which the brakes have beenconsiderably worn, but only a smallmovement ofy the. clutch pedal is required to release the clutch.` In.this adjustment the bracket Y2,2 is inverted from.

its position illustrated in Figure 3, so that the Ileg 23 extendsupwardly away from the o'or board, instead of downwardly toward. the`floor board, as illustrated in Figure 3. The ,bracket 2| is mounted inthe same relative position as that illustrated in Figure 3, so that theupper surfacev of its.1eg21 is` positionedconsiderably above the uppersurface of the foot pad of the clutch.

pedal Il! when both of the pedals are fully released. With thisadjustment, when the driver desires to depress both of the pedalssimultaneously, his foot first engages the angle bracket 2| anddepresses the brake pedal until the top surface of the leg 21 of theangle bracket 2| is brought to a position at which it is substantiallyush with the top surface of the foot pad of the clutch pedal Ill. Thistakes up the lost motion in the brake pedal and brings the brake pedalto a position at which it will engage the brakes when the clutch pedalis moved an amount sulicient to disengage the clutch, as indicated bythe dotted line c in Figure 4, the brake-engaging position of the brakepedal in this figure being indicated by the line d. Theclutch-disengaging and brakeengaging positions of the two pedals inFigure 3 are indicated by the dotted lines a and b.

Figure 5 shows the adjustment for a condition such as might exist whenthe clutch is worn, but the brakes have been recently relined oradjusted, so that a large movement of the clutch pedal is required torelease the clutch, but only a small amount of movement of the brakepedal is required to engage the brakes. For this adjustment, the bracket22 is mounted in the same position as that illustrated in Figure 3 withits leg 23 directed downwardly toward the floor boards. The position ofthe bracket 2|, however, is reversed, so that the leg 21 of this bracketis positioned below the leg 24 of the bracket 22. Under theseconditions, the driver will rst depress the clutch pedal Ill to take uplost motion in this pedal, and will not contact the leg 21 of theextension bracketZl until the clutch pedal has been brought to aposition at which its further depression necessary to release the clutchis substantially the same as the amount of depression of the brake pedalnecessary to engage the brakes.

` In all three adjustments, when the clutch is released, and the brakesengaged, the upper surface of the leg21 of bracket 22 will besubstantially flush with the top surface of the foot pad of the clutchpedal lil, so that both pedals function simultaneously under operationby one foot of the driver of the vehicle, the drivers other foot beingfree to control the throttle of the vehicle engine. In Figure 5, theclutch-releasing location of the clutch pedal, and the brake-engagingposition of the brake pedal are indicated by the dotted lines e and f.

The invention may be embodied in other speciiic forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiment is, therefore, to be considered in all respects asillustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention beingindicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription, and all changes which come within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are, therefore, intended to be embracedtherein.

What `is claimed is:

1; An extension for an automotive Vehicle foot pedal of the type havinga pad portion secured to the top of the pedal by a stud, comprising afirst angle bracket having perpendicularly disposed legs, one of saidlegs having a longitudinal slot therein, said one leg being adapted tobe adjustably secured to the top end of the pedal underlying the padportion of the pedal by the .stud passing through said slot, with theother leg adapted to be disposed either in an upwardly eX- tendingposition or in a downwardly extending position, said other leg beingformed with a longitudinally extending slot, a second angle brackethaving perpendicularly disposed legs, one of the legs of said secondbracket being formed with a longitudinal slot, and a bolt extendingthrough the slotted leg of said second bracket and said other leg of thefirst bracket adjustably securing the slotted leg of said second bracketin face to face relation with said other leg of said iirst bracket,whereby the remaining leg of the second bracket may be positioned in anyone of a wide range of laterally extending positions from a positionspaced a substantial distance below the plane of the foot pedal padportion to a position spaced a substantial distance above the plane ofsaid foot pedal pad portion.

2. An extension for an automotive vehicle foot pedal of the type havinga pad portion secured to the top of the pedal by a stud, comprising aiirst angle bracket having perpendicularly disposed legs of unequallength, the longer of said legs having a longitudinal slot therein, saidlonger leg being adapted to be adiustably secured to the top end of thepedal underlying the pad portion of the pedal by the stud passingthrough said slot, with the shorter leg adapted to be disposed either inan upwardly extending position or in a downwardly extending position,said shorter leg being formed with a longitudinally extending slot, asecond angle bracket having perpendicularly disposed legs ofsubstantially equal length, one of the legs of said second bracket beingformed with a longitudinal slot, and a bolt eX- tending through theslotted leg of said second bracket and said shorter leg of the rstbracket adjustably securing the slotted leg of said second bracket inface to face relation with said shorter leg of said first bracket,whereby the remaining leg of the second bracket may be positioned in anyone of a wide range of laterally extending positions from a positionspaced a substantial distance below the plane of the foot pedal padportion to a position spaced a substantial distance above the plane ofsaid foot pedal pad portion.

O'II'O S. OLSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

